Laser ablation combined with mass spectrometry can be used for imaging of biological samples, such as cells, tissues, etc. (imaging mass spectrometry; IMS). The samples can be labeled with elemental tags/labelling atoms, thereby enabling imaging mass cytometry (IMC). Each laser pulse generates a plume of ablated material from the sample which can be transferred from where ablation occurs to an ionization system and mass analyzer. The information acquired from the laser pulses at each location on the sample can then be used for imaging the sample based on its analyzed content. However, this technique has limitations in its ability to separately resolve each discrete plume of ablated material produced from each laser ablation pulse on the sample.